by Pam Uphoff
Ra'd sneered. And intercepted the next slap, and returned it.
It got a little wild, for a bit.
Sensei Arvi wound up backpedaling away from Ra'd's concentrated fury, and furious speed. Ebsa reached for Speed just to watch. The other students stopped and watched, hovering in alarm. A snap somehow different in quality from the other blows.
"Enough." The sensei backed further as Ra'd continued to advance.
Ebsa jumped up, and paralleled the sensei as he backed past them. "Ra'd can you hear me? This is practice. The sensei deliberately provoked you . . . "
"For no reason. Why doesn't anyone believe me?" Ra'd bared his teeth, but settled back on his heels. He glared at Arvi. "I know how dangerous I am. Do you?"
"I believe I do now." Arvi's attempt at dry was underlain by pain. "Class is dismissed. I seem to have broken my arm."
Snort. "I broke your arm."
"Note to self. Don't get Ra'd pissed at me or anyone I care about," Ebsa muttered.
Another snort from Ra'd. "Indeed? I can see that I'm doing Speed wrong, but you and Paer seem to just . . . get it."
Ebsa glanced at Paer. "I learned Speed doing things in parallel with Rael. Maybe we ought to do some . . . pre-class warm ups with Ra'd, Heak, and Azko?"
"Can't hurt."
"Oh? Sensei Arvi may disagree with you, just now." Azko glanced over his shoulder
Ebsa spent the first weekend running in the morning and then reading ahead in the Chemistry and Latin texts most of the rest of both days. Making notes and . . . telling himself he wasn't terrified of failing.
He skimmed the History text for a reminder, and remembered to buy the Introduction to Magic text. Test Thursday. Remember to study! He hunted through references about the abilities of the Warriors. Some of the myths were wild. Telepathy over thousands of kilometers, slice that worked over several hundred meters and cut through thick steel armor. Obvious exaggerations, but not complete fabrications like flying, seeing in total darkness, and invisibility.
Ebsa thought that over. Levitation was listed as an extremely energy intensive mental effect. Actual flying, one hundred percent levitation plus what? Push or pull spells for motion? It seemed more likely the myths were just exaggerations of strong levitation applied briefly. Magic instead of night vision glasses? The army used two kinds of night vision glasses, one for Oners and one for Multitude, with the Halfers using one or the other.
So engineered vision is a fact. So is this an exaggeration, or has dilution of the genes weakened us? Or, more likely did we lose some of the engineered genes? And the animal genes Professor Ivy talked about. What did he say? Oners average six percent these days? That could be responsible for a loss of abilities.
Invisibility. Look at active camouflage suits. Could a shield be made to do that?
He huffed out a breath. "I need training in the basics so I can try some of these ideas. Maybe we just lost the training. One knows plenty of the Warriors died in the Wars of Unification."
They all got to the gym early, Monday. Ebsa started with just the regular katas that Rael had taught him. From the easy way she mirrored him, Paer knew them as well. He worked up through progressively harder katas until they'd reached the limits of what Heak and Azko could do. Then he backed off to an easier kata and started doing it faster. Fast enough that they could do it without speed. And then just a bit faster.
Sensei Arvi watched them, and set the older students to copying them. "It may be that I can learn something myself." His arm was healing with the usual rapidity of the Oner genetics and modern medicine, but he refrained from sparring himself.
Edge and company—away from Arvi—were dismissive of their efforts.
Tuesday, before the Magic class, Azko plunked himself down beside Nighthawk and started grilling her.
Ebsa grinned. "Pay no attention to him. He just wants to fact check the new history we're being force fed."
Nighthawk snorted. "We got that adjustment out of the way forty years ago, when we got invaded from both sides, and the Old Gods' memories got a good shake up and wake up."
Paer giggled. "But why is your magic so different from ours?"
Nighthawk hesitated. "Xen says it's probably that your spells were invented under such different circumstances. Even the oldest of the gods were less than forty at the Exile. They just hadn't had the time to invent all the techniques we take for granted.
"Well, they had the basics. The guys working in fours or eights and the women in threes? They figured that out when they were learning how to make and control the gates . . . You don't know what I'm talking about, do you?"
"Well, give us a week more of history lectures and we will." Ebsa shrugged. "So why does the almighty Xen think our magic is different?"
"Because your prophets landed in the middle of a war, with guns and tanks. They adapted to a culture with antibiotics and hot-and-cold running water in every house. Electricity and gasoline powered vehicles. Our world . . . the gods think it was chosen because they thought the genetically engineered exiles would all die. We have these comets that come around every four years, and every thousand years or so a big one hits the planet. The active tectonics cracked a lot of rocks, a lot of the hydrocarbons were lost. They couldn't easily refuel their equipment. No chemical fertilizers. A planet full of animals with no fear of humans. Right from the start they developed magical techniques to kill predators and hunt. To fix the nitrogen in the air to fertilize plants, bug repelling spells. Healing spells, spells to work metals and rocks."
"Wow." Ebsa thought that over. "How many people did they exile?"
"Several million, spread out over five worlds. Comet Fall only got about fifty thousand. Most of them were just regular people who'd had a bad mutation fixed. A few had a few insertions and power genes, it was a fad, for awhile. I think Gisele said there were only about five hundred test kids, ever."
"And they went to Comet Fall?" Heak was taking notes.
"Nope. The ones that didn't have dimensional abilities, who weren't useful to the company all got sent off to one Exile world. We think it might be the one we call Steam World, because of all the steam engines they use. Then most of the rest of them escaped; Charlie Alpha bubbled them—umm, encased them in a transdimensional phenomenon with a ten thousand-to-one time dilation—and smuggled them across to the world that's now got Arrival and Arbolia on it."
Ra'd stiffened and leaned forward. "You know about the Bags of the Prophets?"
Nighthawks nose crinkled. "Is that what you call them? Yeah, natural transdimensional phenomena. We use them to make the corridors."
"And those permanent gates?" Paer bounced a bit. "Can you make them?"
Nighthawk shook her head. "The gates are different. I can't make them. Maybe when I've advanced a couple of steps." Despite her deep complexion, she managed to blush.
Right. Puberty, loss of virginity and parenthood are big magic boosts for us as well. Ebsa eyed the witch. So by that blush, you've only achieved the first one. Hope no one takes that as a challenge, I dunno what your parents would say.
They all sat back as the professor walked in.
"So. I'm sure you all read the first chapter of the History of Magic . . . "
Oh hell, I only bought the book two days ago . . .
"It's all bunk. Religion. The so-called Prophets were obviously a marooned exploration team. None of them much older than you lot, and barely trained in Magic. They invented the magical techniques you will be learning about this semester, and with diligent study, learning to do next semester.
"I will be very brief. As you take history classes, refer back regularly to this text, to see what was happening, magically, at the same time as notable events in the political and military arenas.
"You Directorate students will be getting new information which has not been validated, and is probably propaganda aimed at undermining our respect for the One. Do not use it in this class. Not. One. Single. Heretical. Word. About. Lab animals." She huffed out a
contemptuous snort.
"As to magic techniques, the prophets could shield against physical, mental and energy attacks. They could attack with magical physical, mental or electromagnetic effects." She sniffed. "That's energy effects for you Directorate students. Needless to say, these were all close range effects, so once they'd allied with the Islamic Union they stuck mostly to conventional weaponry, slowly adapting new magical effects to enhance the weapons, and shield their allies.
"This gained the Union a victory in Europe, and the prophets won breathing space to put themselves in a ruling position, marrying into the ruling families of the Union.
"At which point they discovered more things that are now common knowledge. They were reasonably fertile, and produced, eventually, thousands of children. But those first halfer children had little magic. The sons all had the Priest gene, and some slight magic. The daughters had a single One X power gene, and could do next to nothing.
"And as they grew, they had serious fertility problems. Now we know that Oner women are only fertile with men who have a higher number of the genes of the Prophets than they have. Now we know that some of those artificial genes work to counter-purposes and do not produce viable offspring.
"But when that generation had children, some of the children could grasp power. The Prophet's married each other's daughters, and of those children, half had power.
"Those sons, according to their proclivities were split between priests and warriors. Men who fought with mental magic, and men who fought with physical magic.
"The women were called princesses, daughters and granddaughters of the Prophets. They trained in magic, but only a few ever fought. Mostly they were used to cement alliances with marriages, pleasing world leaders, but also putting their daughters in place to kill any allies who betrayed them. And as they learned more about how to use magic, they controlled their husbands, so there were no betrayals. A matter of regret to us now, as they had so many fewer children.
"They had, at that time, only trial and error, and divorce and remarriage, to try to expand the number of powerful magic users. Which is, of course, the historical basis for the reproductive part of the 'Game' the politicians play. The long lived prophets married each others' daughters, which increased the probability of magic. And so, as the prophets fought all over the world for the Islamic Republic—in Makkah, their wives gave birth to an army of magicians.
"At need, the Prophets would form a Compass, and pour power into a great destruction. In the early years the Prophets travelled only in groups of eight. The only Prophets killed, were killed when they were isolated and mobbed, or through assassination. As the Priests and Warriors reached adulthood, they traveled with the Prophets to complete their compasses, to guard them, and to lead battles.
"The Asian War ended at the battle of Karachi, when the Imperial Chinese Army deployed a nuclear weapon. The first one used in three centuries.
"They fired their missile at Karachi. The Prophets formed a grand compass. The sixteen living Prophets and thirty-two powerful priests. A force of magic so strong they shielded the entire city. A force so strong they touched the collective subconscious and took control of it. The Imperials panicked, unable to control their thoughts, unable to keep out the terror. Their army collapsed and fled.
"And the One came into being."
Ebsa lifted his eyes from his frantic note taking long enough to see Ra'd's white knuckled grip on the arm of his seat. No doodling today. Later. Analyze Ra'd later. Right now you need to pass this class.
"And the One was able to control, to influence, enough people that China fell to them quickly."
"Then they turned to Greater Argentina, or the South American Union as they called themselves later."
"The accidental castration of a young Oner, and the resultant expansion of his power, showed the Prophets how to increase their power, and resulted in the sheer numbers of powerful magicians needed to overcome the numerical advantage of the South Americans. The long lived Prophets continuously injected their genes back into every generation. But they weren't immortal. They were in a war. One by one, they died. And their sons and daughters died. With every generation, with every dilution, the Warriors became weaker.
"Three hundred and twenty years after the Arrival, the world was One. And the Prophets were gone.
"By the end of the war the genes of the Prophets were well disseminated through the population. The later Warriors and Priests sought to re-concentrate the genes, to regain the power and abilities of the older Warriors in the following generations."
The professor looked them all over. "First test on Thursday. Read, I repeat, read the supplementary material."
They headed for the coffee shop again.
"You know, taking Intro Magic and History at the same time is kind of handy. Apart from not believing the Fallen about the Prophets being considered animals instead of human, they're going to duplicate info, which makes studying for the tests easy." Paer looked relieved.
Ebsa nodded. "Although I may change my mind after the first tests."
Azko sniffed, probably at their lazy attitude.
Paer grinned. "Frankly though? I suspect what they don't like is admitting that the Fallen can do things we can't, and some of the things we can both do, they can do better or harder, from further away."
Azko narrowed his eyes and turned to the foreign girl. "So . . . do your Old Gods form a compass to do great things?"
Ebsa grinned. "Information junkie."
Nighthawk tossed her head. "They did for the comet. Well, there were only six of them, so two of them protected some cities just in case they couldn't deflect the comet. That story, history, of yours makes me think it might be a good thing there weren't enough for a Great Compass."
Paer, Heak and Azko glared. Ebsa noticed a tiny nod from Ra'd, and wondered again about his history.
Ebsa slurped too-hot coffee. "I've heard you have something like the Priest gene."
Nighthawk nodded. "Except it's located on the X chromosome. They used to castrate the kids at ten. Actually, the kids were supposed to do it themselves, to show how much they wanted the power. Then when they were good enough, they'd use spells to regrow their balls." She shrugged with the indifference only a female could achieve on that subject. "Now they just magically suppress the hormones until they're in their twenties. Most men's brains don't mature until they're like, twenty-five or so."
Azko wrinkled his nose. "How do they do that?"
Nighthawk made a pinching motion on her forehead and held out a glittering insubstantial web.
They all stared at it.
"We don't, umm, usually display spell webs like that." Ebsa blinked watering eyes. "I sort of see a reverse of a healing spell in there?"
Paer nodded. "I don't recognize anything else."
Ra'd drummed his fingers. "I'm too old for that, aren't I?"
"For the strongest effect? Probably, but the last years seem to be critical." Nighthawk eyed him. "Want it? It will wear off in a couple of years, or it's easy enough to snap yourself, here and here."
"Yeah. I see how to break it." Ra'd eyed it, shook his head slowly.
Azko was looking horrified. "One! For a moment there I thought you were going to do it!"
"If I knew it would give me more power . . . " Ra'd crossed his arms. "If I knew it wouldn't do any permanent damage . . . it would be worth a few years of . . . being one of those things."
They all gawped at him.
Whoa! Talk about lack of respect for priests!
"So it's like a temporary castration . . . " Azko turned to Nighthawk. "Do their voices go high and . . . " He broke off at her shaken head.
"The older teenagers who try it just aren't as interested in women as they used to be. That jumps back up as soon as they take it off."
"I doubt they'd admit to feeling any different." Ra'd was stiff.
He's seriously tempted.
"It takes a couple of weeks for the circulating hormone level to drop.
It not like a huge sudden change." Nighthawk looked completely matter-of-fact.
Ebsa grinned. "How do you know? I thought witches didn't have much to do with men." And I didn't know they threw spells around like that.
"Witches!" Heak yelped.
Paer nodded. "That's what they call their women with magic."
"How did you get stuck with a name like that!"
Blink, blink. "It's a good name. Powerful. A very clear identifier. Even you lot know enough of the mystique to be wary. This is a good thing. And women can be wizards too. It depends on which of the three power genes they have. Or if they have one of each, which power source they naturally use. I'm a witch."
Ra'd crossed his arms. Again. "That implies that you are evil."
Nighthawk grinned. "From the point of view of a Oner, I undoubtedly am."
"So you think good and evil are subjective, not objective?"
"Of course. Look at you Oners and your weird rape laws. Just voluntarily entering a man's home is implicit permission for him to have sex with you? How stupid is that? And if she fights him off, she's guilty of assault? Good grief. Rapists are evil. Self defense is not."
"Hey!" Azko looked indignant. "That's just so women can't accuse a man of rape, for revenge. It's just common sense. Don't want sex, don't enter a man's house."
"So even if a guy says, 'come over for dinner, I promise, nothing else,' he can rape her?"
Ebsa shrugged. "He will be accused of murder, if he kills her in the process, but half the time they get off as self defense, since the fight was obviously all her fault."
"It is a great failing of honor, to rape a woman." Ra'd snorted. "Changing the legal definition does not change the evil that was done."
Nighthawk brushed a long strand of her black hair back behind an ear. "Perhaps some moral issues have objective good and evil, after all."
Wednesday, Azko failed to burn down the organic chemistry lab.